Hana Hou! (An Anniversary Special)
by giraffeseattrees
Summary: Santana and Brittany go on their annual trip to Hawaii to celebrate their anniversary. From exploring the island to getting roped into new experiences, they leave Oahu each year with renewed love for one another. Happy Brittanaversary! (Hana Hou! /ha nah ho/: One more time!)
1. Brittana's 1st Year

AN: Even though my old fic -which is gone and never to be heard from again- was set in Hawaii, I just couldn't resist this perfect opportunity to have some fun with our fav girls in my home state.

Anyways, Happy Valentine's Day! I do plan on posting on this year's actual anniversary, but first, allow me to play catch up on the first three annis.

(For anyone who might be from Hawaii: I'm not going to write in pidgin. It's just not a thing I can do without confusing literally everyone else haha. But just know that everyone -besides our two girls- is automatically translated in my head as speaking pidgin. So... just imagine it lol.)

* * *

_**Chapter 1: Brittana's 1st Year**_

There's just something about Hawaii that pulls Santana and Brittany back to celebrate their first anniversary.

It's been almost two years since their first visit, after Lesbos Island and before going back to New York to live together. Looking back on it, they had actually gotten into a little tiff about the AirBnB Santana booked because she reserved it without doing any research first. But to Santana, the place was cheap and right on the beach so logically it seemed like a really great deal. How was she supposed to know Makaha wasn't exactly a tourist spot?

It wasn't long after touching down in Honolulu did they fully realize that Makaha was probably the worst place to stay for first-time visitors.

Not even an hour in and the traffic alone, from the airport to the westside, almost drove them both insane. They also later learned that leaving Makaha to explore other parts of the island was another crazy feat in and of itself. Only one way in, one way out.

It was a major bummer for them because that meant they had to plan doing all the generic tourist things around the possibility of major traffic. And if they did venture out, travel time alone would eat away at their supposedly relaxing vacation.

So instead, they stayed in most of the time. They got used to sleeping in late and waking up to the sounds of the ocean tide picking up. They spent a lot of time relaxing on the sand and swimming in the ocean. And as a result, by the end of their first week Brittany had gotten into a daily routine of sunscreen during the day and aloe during the night. Santana, ever the opportunist, had gotten into her own routine of applying both to Brittany's skin for her.

But most importantly, they spent every second of those three weeks relearning how to be together, as a couple. So what if they might have been horizontal a good amount of the time, they also took care in learning to communicate again and talk things out. The past, the present, the _future_. They talked and talked until it was clear that making things work this time around was equally as important to the both of them. That this time, they were in it for the long haul. This time, they were in it until infinity.

In that small, beautiful, and intimate cottage at the very end of the westside of Oahu, they fell in love all over again, in new kind of way. An infinity kind of way.

So yeah, their first Hawaii trip meant everything to them, even if it started off a little rocky. Even if they didn't get to do all the things they planned.

This time though, they knew better. They made sure their flight didn't land in the middle of rush hour traffic, and they definitely made sure to remember to use the restrooms at the airport before leaving.

They also had a plan. A more thought out plan to do all of the touristy things even though that meant a hell of a lot of driving across the island. Because as much they hated the idea of driving in traffic, they just couldn't think of staying anywhere else but that same little cottage.

"Do you think it's weird that we rented the same place?" Santana grunts as she lifts their luggages into their tiny rental car trunk. With as much travelling as they did touring with Mercedes, they still haven't learned the ever humbling lesson of packing lightly.

"No, I think they'll be really happy to see us, again. If they even remember us."

"Britt, I'm pretty sure they'll remember the people who broke their bed frame." Santana chuckles, breathlessly eyeing the remaining three bags that need to fit.

"We didn't _break _it, Santana." Brittany rolls her eyes, "It just no longer stood on its legs."

"Because it _broke_."

"Well, the legs made it all wibbly-wobbly anyways. If anything we helped stabilize it." Brittany steps closer, "Honey, you sure you don't need help?"

Santana shakes her head dramatically, using her hip to push one of their bags further in. She has too much pride to admit defeat. She's also too much of an idiot to not disagree with Brittany when she said they'd never fit everything in the car they were assigned.

So, here she is, stubborn and struggling. She turns her body around to get more leverage and just when she thinks she's got it, she looks back at Brittany with triumph at the tip of her tongue, only to find her missing.

Confused, she stops what she's doing and looks around the lot. It's a few minutes before she finds Brittany, walking out of the office, a different set of car keys in hand.

"I almost had it." Santana huffs once Brittany is standing in front of her again.

"Oh, I believe you." The blonde winks, "But I just wanted to try something new."

It's no use fighting her on it and Santana knows it. And instead of rubbing it in, Brittany just begins to remove their luggages from the tiny trunk. Santana, too embarrassed to say anything, can't help but watch her wife save the day. _Her wife_. She smiles softly to herself. It's almost been one whole year of saying her own name as Santana Lopez-_Pierce. _Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Once the new car is packed and they're ready to head out, Santana looks adoringly at her wife one more time from behind the steering wheel.

"What?" Brittany blushes, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ears.

Santana shakes her head, "I just really love you. Like, so so much."

"Until infinity?"

"Always."

* * *

After about an hour of driving they finally pull up to the familiar driveway.

"It looks exactly the same." Brittany says as she moves her sunglasses to the top of her hair to admire the small cottage before them. A bubble of excitement forms in Santana's stomach at Brittany's comment because it's true. Everything is exactly how she remembers it.

The row of red ginger flowers lining the front porch in full bloom. The faded light green color of the exterior paint. Even the same stand up paddle boards they attempted to use on their first trip, still propped up neatly along the side of the porch.

"We made it, Britt." Santana flashes her a big dopey grin, making her wife giggle.

As Santana unpacks the car, Brittany goes off to find the lockbox containing the key. By the time all the luggage is on the porch and ready to be moved in, two familiar faces are walking towards them from across the yard.

It's funny because Santana can still remember the surprise of meeting the owners for the first time and them being nothing like what she expected. Not in a judgmental way or anything, she just assumed they were those rich people type who buy properties in nice places only to rent them out for extra cash.

But they definitely weren't. Turns out they're weren't just _living in Hawaii _local, they're _born and raised _local. As in, _don't make the mistake of casually asking them about their Hawaiian lineage because they'll pull out a trunk-full of documents tracing all the way back to even before the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom_ local.

"Santana! Look at you!" Lindsey yells out as Santana steps down from the porch to meet them. The older woman doesn't waste any time, kissing Santana on the check before pulling her in for a hug. Alexander does the same, his hug being more of a bear hug.

It's something that she's not used to but frankly, after their first visit here, she should have expected this kind of welcome from them. It's almost reminiscent of when she would greet distant _aunties _and _uncles_ at Lopez family gatherings growing up.

"Hi Lindsey, Alexander. Long time no see."

"I'm pretty sure I told you last time to just call me Aunty Lin."

"And Uncle Alika." Her husband laughs heartily.

At the sound, Brittany steps out from behind the side gate, "Aunty Lin! Uncle Alika!" She waves excitedly and Santana can't help but smile at how comfortable she still is with them.

It was apparent during their first visit that their hosts weren't like the usual AirBnB hosts who stay out of their guests way. Instead, they made it a point to check in every once in a while and Brittany enjoyed making conversation and getting to know them a little.

"Brittany, you look stunning!"

"Thank you, Aunty."

"And thank you for letting us stay here again." Santana blushes, knowing that it's not necessary to explain what she means by that.

"Oh, of course!" Aunty Lin exclaims, "Honestly after what happened, you guys are our favorite story to tell people. It would've been rude of us to deny you another stay."

"I was more surprised that you two choose to come back all the way out here." Uncle Alika laughs. "We know it's not the most convenient location."

"No, we love this place." Brittany smiles, moving her hand to hold Santana's. "We wouldn't want to spend our first anniversary anywhere else but here."

"You two got married?" The older woman's eyes widen excitedly.

"Officially one year ago, _tomorrow_." Brittany winks at Santana, making her blush a deep red.

The owners share a look and smile. "This calls for a celebration, then. Go and get settled in, we'll bring something over for you two later."

"Oh aunty, that's not necessary. Really." Santana tries to tell her but it falls on deaf ears. The retreating couple wave them off and she watches as they disappear back inside the main house across the yard.

Santana turns to her wife to roll her eyes but finds herself giggling as she's being pulled from her spot and towards the front door of their cottage.

Brittany makes quick use of the keys and soon the door flies open before the two of them. Santana recognizes that all too familiar glint in her wife's eyes and it's not long before they're both frantically pulling in their excessive amount of luggages so that they can shut the door and lock it.

* * *

"I'm just sayin', I'm grateful for the cake, but you have to admit the note was a little unnecessary." Santana emerges slightly breathless from under the covers of their bed and reaches for the piece of paper on the nightstand.

When they got into their cottage the first thing they did was break in the sofa, obviously. The second, of course, was test the strength of the bed. The third thing they did was open the door to accept the gift from Aunty Lin and Uncle Alika, which was sitting at the doorstep with a note taped to it.

"I think it's funny." Brittany laughs, reaching over to pluck the paper from Santana's hand to read it one more time. _Don't worry, we reinforced the bed this time_. It was almost like it fueled something in Brittany when she first read it because Santana was pleasantly surprised when she took some of the frosting and did very _naughty_ things with it. "I think we should frame it. We can keep it as a first anniversary souvenir."

"Britt, no. It's embarrassing."

"Oh?" Brittany quirks an eyebrow, "You mean to tell me you aren't even a little proud of it?"

Santana tries her best to hold back her grin but images of Brittany ten minutes ago with that delicious frosting flood her mind.

"Plus, it came with free cake that said Happy Anniversary and everything."

"You didn't even wait for me to take a picture." Santana laughs.

"It's not my fault. The note gave me new ideas."

"And they were _very_ good ideas."

"They were weren't they?" Brittany grins, leaning in to lick a little bit of frosting still left on Santana's neck. "You should thank the note."

Santana hums, "I guess I _could_ see it as a reminder of our incredible sex life. Not many people can say they broke a bed."

"Not many people can say they broke it _twice_." Brittany smirks, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively and in a fit of giggles, Santana moves quickly until she's straddling her wife, looking down at her with dark eyes.

"How about we give their reinforcements a run for their money?"

"Challenge accepted. Come here, baby." Brittany beckons, biting her bottom lip and pulling Santana down with a hand to the back of her neck.

* * *

Santana wakes up the next morning to the familiar smell of coffee and she hums in approval. In their normal every day to day lives, Santana's usually the one to wake up first to start the first pot, mostly because she likes to take her time getting ready in the morning.

But this particular morning it's different because today, Santana's not only greeted with the smell of coffee but also the cool feel of the light ocean breeze and the soft sounds of waves crashing on the shore.

"Hey, sleepyhead." A soft voice calls to her.

Santana smiles, turning her body towards the sound of her wife's voice and finds her sitting at the table, feet propped up on the chair, coffee cup in one hand and newspaper in the other. Brittany giggles at Santana's grabby hands before placing both items down and joins her back on the bed, laying directly on top of her.

"Did you turn off my alarm?" Santana mumbles sleepily.

"You looked so peaceful." Brittany smiles, "Plus it made for a really cute photo."

"Baby, please tell me at least my nipples were covered this time."

Her wife laughs, "Yes, I made sure the girls were concealed."

"_Oh, thank god_. I don't think I can handle another one of those conversations with my mom, again. Once was enough."

"But that picture is my most liked picture, though."

"_Was_. It _was _your most liked picture." Santana corrects her, shaking her head with a soft smile.

Brittany rolls her eyes and shifts her weight to kiss Santana on the nose lightly, "Happy Anniversary, honey."

The light smell of coffee on her wife's breath, mixed with a hint of that same frosting from last night takes over Santana's senses and she imagines Brittany sneaking another piece of cake for breakfast, thinking she won't be found out.

She feels the weight of her wife on top of her, keeping her grounded as her heart flutters in her chest uncontrollably. It's finally official. They've been married for one whole year and part of her still can't believe it. Part of her still can't believe that after everything they've been through, they're here again, in this beautiful, intimate cottage in Hawaii, promising each other an infinity.

"The first of so many." Santana finally breathes out, lifting her head just enough for Brittany to get the hint and close the distance between them.


	2. Brittana's 2nd Year

_**Chapter 2: Brittana's 2nd Year**_

They decide to turn their Hawaiian vacation into an anniversary tradition. And even more so they decide to make it a point to continue renting the same little cottage they fall more in love in. It's something to look forward to, starting each year with a bang. Or more like many bangs, actually.

This year was a little tricky, though. They had to find a way to work around their crazy work and school schedules but they somehow managed to do it.

With Mercedes not on tour anymore, the past year has been quite hectic. Getting back into the swing of everyday life for the two of them meant a year filled with catching up on college credits, a lot of auditions, and a few booked gigs here and there, but nothing too promising. And they supported each other. Sometimes Brittany more so. Other times Santana. They had each other and that's all that mattered. It was a year of finding their place in the world. Both as individuals and together.

They had to dip into their savings a little this trip but they both agreed that it would be worth it. After last year's trip that was jam packed of every touristy excursion they could think of, they wanted to go back and recreate their very first visit of mostly relaxing on the beach.

Because even though they loved visiting and exploring Waikiki and Haleiwa, there's just nothing quite like the westside. It's a different kind of _aloha spirit_ that the westside embodies that just feels more… _genuine_.

Not that Waikiki, or even Haleiwa for that matter, isn't genuine… it just feels more like they _have_ to be nice to tourists. Like it's expected. Whereas, on the westside, it's all about respect and as long as they don't step on anyone's toes -like disrespect the land or act like they deserve special treatment- people won't care that they're visitors.

And Santana kind of likes that. She likes that the people there aren't afraid to call anyone out on their shit. Which is something that they learned first hand during their last trip when Santana almost got into a fist fight with one of the locals for yelling at Brittany.

After the incident, they sat down with Aunty Lin and Uncle Alika and had a long conversation about the culture in Hawaii. Turns out, they had unknowingly hiked past a _KAPU_ sign and by the time they realized they were off-trail, it was too late; they were trespassing on someone's property.

And thanks to Uncle Alika's suggestions, they returned the next day to offer an apology in the form of a jar of li hing pickled mango '_from Uncle Terry three doors down_' and a six pack of Heineken beer.

Which is how they learned that Hawaii is mostly full of forgiving and understanding people. People who just want to be recognized and respected. People, who for some odd unknown reason, really _love_ Heineken beer.

* * *

Before heading to the cottage, they go out of their way to pick up two boxes of coco puffs from Liliha Bakery. One for Aunty Lin and Uncle Alika, and one for themselves because if Santana's being honest, she really _really_ loved that Hawaiian chantilly frosting last time.

"Honey?" Brittany turns to Santana once their back in their rental car, "I know you're exhausted from the flight, but can we go the scenic route?"

Santana feels Brittany's hands on her thigh and she narrows her eyes, "By 'scenic' you mean?"

"Drive around the island."

"Babe, that's like a 4 hour drive..."Her eyes widen. She would've been fine with a little detour somewhere, but driving around the island is anything but a little detour.

"There's traffic heading west right now, anyways. What's a few more hours added by going the long way? I just want to roll down the windows and smell the ocean."

"You can smell the ocean from the bed." Santana says pointedly but then immediately regrets her words when Brittany looks at her, clearly unamused.

"It's our anniversary."

"Britt-"

"It's our anniversary, Santana. And I know this whole week is to celebrate that, but I for one would like to at least do _something _special today."

Santana sighs, knowing that there's no arguing with that. Flying on their actual anniversary day wasn't the most ideal but they were both relieved when their work schedules cleared enough for them to even make it into Hawaii on the day of and not any later. She looks at her wife, her eyebrows still perfectly arched like she's waiting for Santana to challenge her.

"Fine." Santana gives in with a huff.

"Yay!"

"But we aren't making any stops."

* * *

They end up making more than a few stops in town and really, Santana should've known better. She'll give her wife whatever she wants today even if that adds even more time to their travel time.

After going through their own box of coco puffs -which Santana was not too happy about because she had plans for that frosting, okay- they stopped at the nearest convenience store for a couple bottles of water. Brittany, seemingly sealing her own fate, drank an entire bottle like she'd just been travelling through a desert for the past three days.

Which, in hindsight, was a mistake.

"Britt, I don't know how long it'll be until the next public restroom." Santana glances at her wife who won't stop squirming in her seat. They passed numerous restrooms as they drove through Hawaii Kai but it wasn't until they passed Hanauma Bay that Brittany really started to feel the effects of drinking that much water at once.

"Then stop at the next beach. I'll go in the water if I have to."

"Ew, babe no. You don't even have a swimsuit on."

"I'm serious!" Brittany whines, "I feel like I'm going to explode."

Santana drives as fast as the car in front of her allows, which for her, is incredibly slow. Everyone always slows down when they drive past a scenic lookout. Why? Why is that a thing? Just fucking pull over and stop if you want to look so bad.

"Overtake these tourist, San."

"Excuse you, we are also tourists." Santana scoffs, "And also, how exactly do you expect me to do that? Drive off the cliff? Or drive into oncoming traffic? Or _maybe _I can drive along the side of the mountain?"

"Don't get smart with me, Santana, or I swear I'll pee in this damn rental car."

"I'm just saying there's no escape." Santana glances in her rearview mirror and sees the line of cars following behind them, "It'd be too dangerous to turn around on this road. You're just going to have to hold it."

Eventually, they make it to Sandy's beach in record time and Brittany practically jumps out as the car is still rolling. Thankfully, this beach has facilities so she doesn't have to go in the ocean. By the time Brittany's walking back, Santana's leaning on the hood of their rental car with her sunglasses on and her smirk on full display.

"Don't start with me." Brittany rolls her eyes.

"It's a good thing there were restrooms here," Santana smiles and juts her chin towards the ocean, "You might've died in there."

Brittany turns around and they both watch multiple people struggle to just get into the water, having to time it perfectly between the waves rolling in. It's mostly the locals who seem to be the most experienced in navigating the strong current, but even then, it looks like it really hurts when they get slammed down into the sand near the shoreline.

"You two aren't planning on going in are you?" A local asks them as he steps up to the truck parked beside them.

Santana shakes her head, "It looks dangerous."

"It is." He laughs, "Today's more rough than usual. Definitely not the place for a relaxing swim."

"Maybe we could just dip our feet in?" Brittany looks at Santana with the most adorable look, making it hard for her to find the words to turn her down.

He looks at the two of them once he's finished securing his board to the bed of his truck, "Well good luck. And remember, if you do get pulled in, don't panic if the ocean holds you down."

Brittany's eyes widen and Santana is thankful for his warning, "On second thought, maybe we're good just _looking_ at it."

"Smart girl. She's a keeper." He smiles, winking at Santana before calling over his shoulder as he steps into his truck, "Stay safe girls."

* * *

After a small detour through Kailua, they find themselves in Laie, looking for a grocery store to pick up some essentials. At first they only wanted to stop to buy more water but Santana figured they could kill two birds with one stone and pick up most of their food list items now.

Since there's not too many eating options near their cottage in Makaha, they've come to really rely on their own cooking for a majority of their meals during their vacations. Which in all honesty works out well for their wallets and keeps their trip budget in check.

Eventually, they pull up to a Foodland and Santana smiles softly at her adventurous wife curiously looking at their new surroundings. They've never been to this side of the island before and even though Santana's been in a mood, she's doing her very best to keep herself from ruining their 'Anniversary Road Trip' as Brittany's officially dubbed it.

"Do you have your list?" Santana pulls Brittany's attention back to her and she nods enthusiastically. "Just like we agreed, okay? In and out, only getting what's on the list, no stopping for randoms."

Brittany frowns, "You take all the fun out of road tripping, San."

"Road tripping isn't supposed to be fun."

"Literally no one's ever said that. Ever"

"Remember to not grab any cold items," Santana ignores her, "They won't last the drive. We'll just have to drive to the store tomorrow to pick those up. It's not what we had planned but we'll just have to make it work."

"You know, if you really didn't want to do this, you could've just said no."

Santana stops looking at the list on her phone and finds sad blue eyes staring back at her. She softens, knowing that Brittany's just trying to make the most out of their anniversary day and she's ruining it for her. And yeah, technically she could've said no, but how could she? How could she deny her wife's wishes on their anniversary?

All Brittany wanted was to spend time together doing something fun and different.

"I'm sorry baby." Santana sighs, "I promise from here on out I'll try to have more fun."

Brittany eyes her cautiously, "You won't be grumpy?"

"Me? Grumpy? Never." Santana feigns a soft gasp that earns her a smile from the blonde, followed by an eye roll, making the both of them laugh.

"Okay grumpy gills," Brittany leans in and gives Santana a quick kiss, "Let's tackle this super unfun list of yours."

Once they get inside, Brittany pushes the cart along Santana's side, keeping up with her as she pulls various items off the shelves and into their cart. Aisle for aisle as items go in, Brittany checks them off the list and it's not long before there's only one thing left to get.

"Tequila?" Brittany quirks an eyebrow, "What kind of week are we trying to have?"

Santana laughs, "We're getting margarita mix to go with it. Alls I wants to do is to sip margaritas on the beach whiles I watch my girl swim."

She giggles, rolling her eyes at her wife, "Well, I didn't see the alcohol section earlier. You?"

"Now that I think about it…"

Brittany looks up at the stores signage, "There's not even a sign for it, hun."

At that Santana takes off in search for the nearest stock boy. When she finally finds one, a young kid that's probably barely an adult, she asks him where the alcohol section is.

"You're not from here, are you?" He laughs, and Santana looks at him like she's slightly offended. "Sorry, I didn't mean that in a bad way."

"Just point us in the right direction, kid." Her patience wearing thin now.

"That's what I was getting to," He looks apologetic, "This is a dry town."

Santana stares blankly back at him, "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're in the middle of Mormon country. No alcohol. We do have coffee though."

"You're kidding." Brittany steps up and quickly grabs hold of Santana's arm. Santana, due to the small the gesture, is reminded that attacking a small unknowing barely adult mormon boy in the middle of a grocery store _on their anniversary_, is _not_ part of the plan.

"I'm sorry, aunty." He looks at Santana and her eyes widen in horror.

"Did you just-" She shakes her head in disbelief, "We're practically the same age!" The grip on her arm tightens as her voice gets louder and she turns to her wife, "Get me away from him, right now."

It's all Santana needs to say before Brittany whisks her away and towards the check out line. She's fuming as Brittany takes the lead, completing the transaction and eventually loading up the car.

"Sit here," Brittany guides her to the passenger seat, "I think maybe it's time we switch."

"Because it's dark now and you can't sight see anymore?"

"No," Brittany laughs, "Because you're a grumpy gills again, and I don't want to hear you complain the rest of the way."

Santana doesn't argue with her. Truth be told, she's too tired and exhausted, and they've been on the road for three hours now so the thought of having to drive another two more hours really doesn't sound appealing to her.

It takes her more than a few minutes to realize that Brittany's been gone for a quite some time for her to be just putting back their cart. But before she gets too worried, Brittany reappears, jumping into the driver's seat and handing Santana a bowl.

"Where'd you go?"

"Back inside." Brittany hands her a pair of chopsticks, "Poke bowls for dinner. This should make you a little less grumpy. Also I might have mentioned to the stock boy that I basically saved his life."

"We're practically the same age." Santana grumbles again.

"I know, honey." Brittany grins, "I know."

* * *

The amount of traffic they run into trying to leave the north shore can only be described as _ungodly_. It's something they knew would happen but being stuck in one spot for 15 minutes and only moving about 30 feet has even begun to seriously affect Brittany.

"Why did you let me go through Haleiwa?" Brittany sighs as she rests her chin on her knuckles, her hands holding the top of the steering wheel.

"Hey, I was perfectly fine with skipping it and staying on the highway. Besides, we're nearly to the end. Probably another hour or so more."

"That's not funny, Santana."

Santana laughs and looks at the passing stores as they reach the end of Haleiwa and finally make it back onto the highway. Thankfully, traffic starts moving at a much more reasonable pace, however, Santana can't help but feel like making a little bit trouble.

She sticks her hand out the window to _feel _the air, "You know what would make this even better?"

Brittany glances at her, eyeing her carefully like she must know where Santana is going with this.

"I mean, the sky did look a bit cloudy today. And the air does feel a little wet." Santana continues.

"Stop it. If we get stuck in even more traffic you'll be sorry you jinxed it."

"I don't know... I think it's this passenger seat. It's got me embracing this whole road trip thing. You were right, it is kind of fun."

"Well, it won't be fun if starts raining. You already hate how slow the driver's are here. Throw rain into the mix and suddenly everyone acts like they're driving on ice."

"Yeah, but I'm not the one driving so I don't really care."

"You're evil," Brittany looks at her, mouth slightly agape.

"No, babe." Santana smirks, "I think they call this _karma_."

And just like that, a light drizzle of rain begins to fall only to be followed not long after by a full downpour of rain.

They roll up their windows quickly and before Brittany can even attempt to pass at least a few cars, they're stuck behind what looks to be another never ending line of cars.

"Ugh! We were so close to getting out of this!"

Santana holds back a laugh, "Would another round of our Santittany Infinite Playlist cheer you up?"

"Are you mocking me?" Brittany turns to her wife, eyes narrowed.

"Never." Santana smirks, "I'm just having _fun_."

* * *

Santana's spent the last fifteen minutes trying to distract Brittany from the fact that she needs to use the restroom. But just over five hours since leaving the airport, they've finally made it to their beautiful little cottage, waiting for them with imaginary open arms.

The car is barely in park before Brittany is jumping out and rushing to the lockbox for the keys. Santana takes her time getting out of the car and before she can even open the trunk to grab the bags, a voice calls out from across the yard.

"I didn't realize you girls would be this late." Santana looks up and finds Aunty Lin, wearing a night robe, walking towards her. "Is Brittany okay?"

Santana looks back towards the cottage just in time to catch a small glimpse of her wife disappearing through the front door and she chuckles. "Small bladder. Not cut out for road tripping apparently."

"Road trip, huh?" The older woman smiles, "You should've texted me, I would have put the bottle on ice much later."

"No, it's okay, aunty. Thank you so much, though. We brought you and uncle a box coco puffs, but I think it's safe to say those probably aren't good anymore. They've been sitting for more than a few hours now."

"It's probably for the best. We're trying to cut back on the sweets." Aunty Lin chuckles, "I'm glad you made it here safely, though. We were starting to get worried." Something catches the older woman's eye and she looks up to the cottage, her smile widening and Santana already knows why.

"Looks like she found it." She whispers to Santana, "We'll talk more tomorrow. You two enjoy the rest of your night now."

They say their farewells and when Santana turns around, she's greeted with the image of her wife, standing in the doorway of their anniversary cottage, holding a bottle of champagne. It's probably room temperature by now but Brittany's face says it all. A combination of shock, confusion, and little bit of love mixed in for good measure.

By the time Santana's standing in front of her, Brittany's almost in tears.

"Did you do this?" Brittany opens the door further and Santana has to lean a little to get a peek inside their bedroom to see the full set up. She smiles, it's exactly how she imagined it.

"They're the lesbian of flowers," Santana explains with a shrug, reaching out to hold her wife at her waist, "I wanted to make today special."

"You should've said something…"

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

A happy tear rolls down Brittany's cheek and Santana reaches up to wipe it away. She was prepared for this reaction, it's just... a few hours later than originally planned.

"Thank you for entertaining my spontaneous behavior."

"Thank you for put up with my bitchy attitude."

"I'm serious." Brittany laughs, "I should've known you'd do something like this. I feel like I ruined your perfect plan."

"My perfect plan was to spend the day with my perfect wife. I'd call today a success."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, Britt." Santana leans in and kisses her softly. "Now, come help me with our bags before we get too tired."

"Leave the bags. We'll worry about that later." Brittany grins and suddenly Santana can feel the energy change in the air around them. With dark eyes, Brittany leans in to whisper in Santana's ear, "You earned yourself a new position tonight."

Chills. "Oh, yeah?"

"Mhm. And would you look at that," Brittany nods her head toward the clock on the wall, "We still have a few more hours to celebrate."

"Enough time for a quickie?"

"Barely." Brittany smirks, pulling Santana into the cottage.

"Happy Anniversary, baby."

"Happy Anniversary, my love."

* * *

AN: I can confirm that every single one of my Hawaii friends can distinctly remember with horror the first time a grown ass adult stranger called them "Aunty". When it happened to me I was literally 23 and I nearly ripped the poor boy's head off.

Also, if you ever find yourself driving in Honolulu and it begins to rain, I sincerely apologize. To us, the world is ending.


	3. Brittana's 3rd Year

_**Chapter 3: Brittana's 3rd Year**_

It's the morning of their third anniversary and Santana wakes up to the smell of oatmeal. Long gone are the days of waking up and making coffee and pancakes because Brittany's been on a health kick for the past few months.

It's supposed to be _good for them_, or some shit.

Admittedly, they're both in the best shape of their lives. Well, more like Brittany is but that's because she's been dancing a lot. Not professionally or anything, just on her own to clear her head, usually in their living room in the middle of the night.

And it's not that Santana's not working out or anything because she does on occasion, she's just been really busy lately. Mostly with trying to make her own mark in the music industry. She does a few small shows here and there, but most of her time is spent in the studio, creating new music.

But they're both always on the go and that means a lot of last minute food runs that usually ends up being anything and everything, with no care in the world for how unhealthy it is, just as long as it's good.

They've become masters at stress eating.

Which is why -Santana thinks- Brittany took it upon herself to make sure that they're putting more care into their eating habits now. And she's been good about slowly incorporating a healthier diet but still, oatmeal every morning makes Santana feel like she's a middle aged woman with high cholesterol.

"Baby, _please_." Santana mumbles into the pillow, "Can we skip the oatmeal? Just for today?"

The sound of a soft giggle floats from the kitchen and soon, a bowl is placed on the nightstand beside Santana.

"But look, I made today's bowl romantic."

Santana peeks an eye open and strains her neck to look inside. It's basically her regular oatmeal, just with cut up strawberries added on top.

"What the hell is this, Britt?" She laughs.

"It's oatmeal," Brittany deadpans, "With strawberries."

Santana laughs again and quickly pulls her wife down onto the bed, making her yelp in surprise. She maneuvers her way until she's on top, her dark hair showering Brittany's lightly sun-kissed skin. "I'd rather eat something else for breakfast."

* * *

On their way back from their morning run, yet another thing Brittany has weaved into their daily routine, they find Uncle Alika hooking up a small trailer to the back of his truck. They greet each other as per usual, but before they walk away fully, Brittany stops in her tracks.

"What's wrong, babe?" Santana turns around to look at what her wife is staring at. When she sees what it is, she smiles knowingly.

"Is that a 125 two-stroke?" Brittany walks up to Uncle Alika as he rolls it out of their garage and onto the trailer. He looks surprised at first but Brittany continues, "I rode a YZ125 in high school."

"Well, aren't you just full of surprises?" He grins stepping back to allow Brittany the space to full inspect the dirt bike. Santana watches from behind and an all too familiar feeling takes her by surprise. Brittany's hands caressing a dirt bike just _does things_ to her.

"How does she ride?"

"Feisty." He laughs, "This one's quite temperamental actually."

"Just how I like it." Brittany grins, looking back to shoot her wife a wink and Santana mutters a quiet, _wanky_. She chuckles and turns back to Uncle Alika, "Are you heading out to a track?"

He nods, "With the whole family actually. We get together every once in a while at the Kahuku track."

"That's awesome. Must be fun." Brittany smiles, but Santana can tell there's a hint of sadness behind it. She knows it's been years since Brittany's been on a bike. She knows she misses it.

"Well, what's on your agenda today? You two should tag along."

"Oh, no. I wouldn't want to intrude on your time with family." Brittany shakes her head and steps back to where Santana is.

"You won't be. I see them all the time. It's really not a big deal."

"What's really not a big deal?" Aunty Lin comes out of the main house and greets the two girls.

"Britt here has been holding out on us. She's been riding since high school. I was telling them to come join us."

Brittany blushes, "I _used to_ ride in high school. Not anymore, though. I don't even think I'd be able to now."

"Don't sell yourself short, babe" Santana speaks up, nudging her wife's shoulder lightly, "You placed first at states."

"Seriously?" This time it's Aunty Lin's turn to be surprised, "Well, that settles it then. You're both coming with."

"Great!" Santana clasps her hands together, "We were just gonna lounge on the sand today anyways. This is even better."

Brittany's blush reaches the tips of her ears and Santana gives her a quick peck on the cheek to help her out.

"Wait, I don't even have gear." Brittany realizes, "What would I wear?"

"Oh, don't worry about that! We got you, girl. We'll just tell cousin Pat to bring extra."

"I'm so excited, babe." Santana gleams, "It's been way too long since I've watched you ride."

Brittany cocks an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk on her lips and a chill runs down Santana's spine.

"A bike." Santana clarifies, knowing all too well what the last thing Brittany rode was. "It's been too long since I've watched you ride _a bike_."

Aunty Lin laughs, "Well, if you're ready by the time we leave, you can follow us to the track."

With that, the girls quickly head back into their cottage to get themselves situated. It only takes them about twenty or so minutes before they're walking back out, Brittany wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans, and Santana in similar fashion.

"Are you really okay with this?" Brittany asks Santana once they're alone in the car ready to follow behind Uncle Alika's Tundra. "It's our anniversary and we'll be spending it at a dirt bike track."

"I'm more than okay with this, babe. Instead of sipping a margarita while watching you swim, I'll be sipping a margarita while watching you get dirty."

"Please tell me you didn't pack the tequila and margarita mix."

"Do you even have to ask?" Santana smirks.

"So, you're just going to sit there and watch me? You're not going to ride?"

Santana looks at her as if it's obvious and Brittany laughs.

"Not even a little? Not even for our anniversary?"

Santana narrows her eyes. She's not going to give in. Not yet, anyways. So, she shrugs, "We'll see."

"That's a _yes_." Brittany smiles, pumping her fist.

"No, it's a _we'll see_, babe."

"I can't wait to see you in gear." Her wife continues, ignoring Santana's objection and probably already daydreaming, "You're going to look so hot."

Santana thinks about bursting her bubble but can't seem to bring herself to do it. Not when Brittany's this excited. But if she's being honest, she's most definitely not getting on one of those death contraptions. She has way too much anxiety for that.

Maybe at the very most, she'll put a helmet on, just to appease Brittany's fantasy. She also makes a mental note to look up how much it costs to just buy one of those helmets. It might come in handy when they're back in New York.

For, you know, sex reasons.

* * *

The motocross track is huge.

Granted, Santana can't remember the last time she's even been to a motocross track so she has nothing to really compare it to. She notices a few people already riding and when they pull up to park, her eyes scan through the family members talking under a few canopy tents.

In the past two years, they've actually met a few of them. Some will stop by the main house on occasion and if Santana and Brittany are in the cottage, Aunty Lin will always stop by to ask if they want to join them for drinks on the deck.

One time, the electricity went out and when it finally came back on, a few of the appliances in the cottage stopped working so Uncle Alika had to call for an electrician to drive out to remedy the situation. Turns out it was his sister, and Santana probably thanked her a million times for getting the coffee maker to work again. Or was it the outlet? Whatever, point is, Santana was able to make coffee afterwards and that's all that matters.

And truth be told, part of what keeps Santana and Brittany coming back is how much Aunty Lin and Uncle Alika treat like family friends. It's a nice feeling to know that they've built a kind of relationship with them.

"I'm actually kind of excited." Brittany breaks Santana from her thoughts and she looks at her wife staring out the window and at the track.

"Kind of?" Santana laughs, "Britt, you've been watching motocross videos on your phone the entire ride over here."

"Well, I needed the refresher."

Uncle Alika gets their attention by waving at them to come over so they do, leaving the safety of their vehicle and walking over to the group.

"The infamous bed breakers!" Aunty Pat, the electrician, exclaims.

Santana blushes immediately, her ears instantly growing hot, "Are we ever going to live that down?"

"I hope not." Brittany reaches forward and offers the younger aunty a high five.

It doesn't take long until Brittany is being pulled away to see if any of Aunty Pat's old gear fits and Santana takes a seat under the shade.

She makes easy conversation with the others and before she knows it, Brittany is standing in front of her, completely covered in motocross gear, sans helmet. Santana's at a loss for words. Well actually, she has _some_ words floating around in her head but none are appropriate for right now. Not while they're still within earshot of other people.

Brittany blushes at Santana's silence, and begins pulling at one of the buckles, "Is it too much? Maybe I should take off the roost guard-"

"No!" Santana says a little too quickly. She blushes and clears her throat, "I mean, is that the big chest… thingy?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it looks… _important_." She swallows dryly, "So, you should _definitely_ keep that on. Because, um, safety or whatever."

Brittany chuckles, "Okay, honey. Thanks for thinking about my _safety_."

A wave of warmth washes over Santana and she hums, "What's it called again? A rooster shield?" She asks, pulling out her phone and opening her Amazon app.

"Santana," Brittany laughs as she tries to reach for the brunette's phone but Santana slaps her hands away, "Hun, we don't have money for that."

"I'm just _looking_, babe. You never know, one of these days we'll need protection from roosters in New York City and you'll be thanking me then."

Brittany just smiles at her and Santana uses the opportunity to open her camera app. As hot as Brittany looks, she also looks incredible adorable and she can't _not_ snap a few pictures of her.

"How come you don't act like that when I'm wearing my gear?" Uncle Alika turns to Aunty Lin and Santana is reminded again that they aren't alone.

Aunty Lin laughs like it's obvious, slapping his beer belly, "Because you drink too much Heineken, dear."

They laugh along with everyone until Aunty Pat calls Brittany over again. Santana follows, mostly because she wants to see what else can be added to Brittany's ensemble to elevate it.

"Honey, you've seen me in my gear in high school," Brittany laces her fingers with hers as they walk, "Why are you getting all worked up?"

"I know, baby. I'm sorry. But it's just been so long, and I think the fact that it's our anniversary on top of everything, I just really want to jump you."

Brittany stops walking and faces her, "Do you remember what you used to give me before every race?"

"You mean your good luck kiss?" Santana smiles, remembering it fondly, "You always needed that extra encouragement."

"I think I'm gonna need one of those right now."

Santana blushes and glances around, "Britt… if I remember correctly, those _kisses_ were anything but PG13."

"I'm kind of nervous to ride again." Brittany scuffs her shoe against the dirt, "What if I make a fool of myself?"

"You could never. You are Brittany Lopez-Pierce, genius dancer extraordinaire _and_ motocross champion."

"Yeah, but it's been a while though."

"Just think of it like…" She pauses to think of the right words and chuckles, "like riding a bike."

Brittany cracks a smile, "That's not really helpful, hun."

"How about we put a pin in my special good luck kiss, and when we get back later tonight we'll revisit it?"

"Or, maybe it will help if you're riding alongside me?"

Santana smiles, tucking some of Brittany's stray hair behind her ear and she holds her there, "Nice try, babe. But it's not happening."

"What happened to _we'll see_?"

"That was before I saw how massive this place is. It looks scary. What if a rouge bike comes flying at me?"

"I'll protect you."

"Babe," She laughs, pulling Brittany in to kiss away her pout, "The fact that you think you can protect me from a _flying_ two hundred pound death machine is very admirable."

"I protected you from a giant chess piece that one time."

"A giant chess piece made of _foam_. Plus, we were role-playing at the time. It was never actually going to explode and end the world."

Brittany frowns and Santana pokes at her cheeks until she giggles. Aunty Pat clears her throat from the other side of the truck bed and they both blush a deep red.

"I'm gonna go back to the tent and continue my amazon search for motocross gear. That way you can request for me to wear that chicken plate thing whenever you want."

"But it won't be the same. It won't get dirty from riding."

"Oh, it'll get dirty from _riding_ all right. Now go before you get in trouble." Santana winks and turns to walk away, swaying her hips with extra care.

"I get it, now." She hears Aunty Pat say from behind her, "I finally understand how you two broke a bed."

* * *

To Santana's surprise, she's actually having a pretty good time meeting the rest of Aunty Lin and Uncle Alika's family. They're strange mix, and she's sure she won't remember at least half of their names by the end of the day, but they're all very welcoming.

Every now and then she'll glance up and watch as Brittany turns the dirt track into her bitch. Santana could tell her first few rounds were tentative, reacquainting herself with riding and learning the unfamiliar track, but it wasn't long before Brittany was flying through the air with more and more confidence after each round.

"So you mean to tell me," One of the cousins speaks up, "That that badass wife of yours is an actual math genius?"

"The most gifted mind of our generation." Santana states proudly, "She's currently trying to solve the Riemann Hypothesis."

"What's that?"

Santana shrugs, "I honestly have no idea. But she's very cute when she's dancing with a dry erase marker in her hand."

She smiles, thinking about the past few months, with Brittany up late most nights working in their living room. At first, Santana was unsure when Brittany mentioned she wanted to pursue Math again, but Brittany convinced her that this time she'd find a good balance between being a genius and doing what makes her happy.

And she did. No matter how much pressure Brittany was getting from her colleagues, Santana watched as Brittany became more and more comfortable in her abilities. She watched as Brittany found the courage to stand up for herself, not allowing anyone to take advantage of her and working at her own pace. It's not like they could tell her otherwise, they needed her more than she needed them.

As it turns out, dancing seemed to be only thing that helps when Brittany has a hard time focusing. Some nights, Santana would wake up to the sounds of music coming from the living room. She'd sneak past, and put on a pot of tea, knowing that by the time Brittany's mind was clear, she'd have newfound inspiration to continue working.

"And you guys really toured with Mercedes Jones?" One of the teenage girls asks, looking up from her phone.

"Who, Wheezy?" Santana laughs, "Of course. She wouldn't be where she is right now without us."

"I don't believe that. She's like, pretty famous."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're… _not_."

"I'll call her right now. Don't test me, kid." She quirks an eyebrow, the two of them apparently locked into a staring contest of some sort.

After a beat, the younger girl smirks before returning to her phone and muttering a simple, _you're alright_.

"Are you getting yourself in trouble over here without me?" Santana feels Brittany's presence behind her and she softens at her voice.

"She was just telling us about your exciting life in New York City." Aunty Lin tells her and Santana turns in her chair to look at her wife, not at all disappointed at what she sees.

Brittany's standing there, holding her helmet at her waist, slightly breathless. And most importantly, she's filthy. Covered in dirt. She's never been so turned on in her life.

"Babe, stop it." Brittany mutters quietly, blushing. Santana crosses her legs to dull her ache.

"I'm not doing anything."

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Stop _looking_ like that, then."

Brittany shakes her head, chuckling, before pulling Santana up from her seat, "We'll be right back." She tells the others and they all share a knowing look.

Santana, eager as ever, follows Brittany's lead as she brings them to another trail that's off to the side. She looks around for a place that looks a little more secluded but can't seem to find anywhere, "I'm all for the outdoors thing, babe, but I don't think this is the place to get down and dirty. We're too exposed here."

"We're not here for that, silly. I wanted to show you something." Brittany grins at her and continues walking until Santana finally sees it.

"Nope."

"You didn't even let me ask." Brittany pouts and Santana rolls her eyes, motioning for her to continue. "I was thinking maybe we could try-"

"Nope."

"San..."

"Britt, that thing looks like it could kill a dinosaur. It's so huge." Santana shakes her head, looking at the massive vehicle before her.

"It's a two-up quad. We'll ride it together." Brittany steps forward, picking up the helmet from the seat and handing it to Santana, "Don't you trust me?"

"Hey, that's not fair."

"Just hold onto me and you'll be fine. I'll keep it light. Nothing too crazy."

Santana hesitates, but ultimately agrees, putting the helmet on. The absolute glee on Brittany's face already makes her decision worth it. She knows she's not exactly dressed for the occasion but she trusts that Brittany knows not get her too dirty.

As soon as they're both mounted and ready to go, Santana's heart is racing uncontrollably. Almost as if she can read her mind, Brittany hops off and removes both of their helmets. Confused, Santana stays seated and waits for Brittany's explanation.

"Honey," Brittany lifts Santana's chin, her thumb caressing her cheek, "Just breathe, okay? I'll keep you safe."

Santana closes her eyes, and focuses on her wife's touch, "Promise?"

"Always."

She opens her eyes, needing to see comforting blue eyes, and turns to kiss the palm of Brittany's hand. Thankfully, Brittany gets the hint and bends down to place a soft kiss to Santana's temple first and then her lips.

"Okay." Santana breathes, "Okay, I'm ready."

* * *

Santana's clothes get more than a little dirty. But, damn, was it worth it. She's never experiencing anything like that before and adrenaline is pumping through her veins. The only thing that's remotely bringing her mood down is the thought that she has to wait another few hours before she can tear Brittany's clothes off and have her way with her.

But even then, she's not complaining.

She's never felt so alive as they whipped through the dirt terrain, holding on to Brittany's chest protector thing. She seriously needs to get the actual name of it because it's probably the sexiest thing she's ever seen Brittany wear.

And now that they've come to a stop, she's breathless and admittedly giddy. Then, when she doesn't expect it, Brittany flips around in her position and faces Santana. Their knees hitting each others and Brittany's helmet still on, Santana's mind goes straight to the gutter.

"How is it that I can't even see your face," Brittany's voice is muffled but Santana can hear the smile she's sure is there, "but I already know what you're thinking."

Santana chuckles, taking off her own helmet and than Brittany's. She fixes some of her blonde hair that's moved out of place.

"Thank you for this." Brittany says, blushing.

"Why are you thanking me?"

"I don't know, I just feel like we keep doing things for _me_, on _our_ anniversary."

"Trust me, babe," Santana grins, lightly tapping the plastic secured to Brittany's chest, "This is most definitely for _me_."

"You're ridiculous." Brittany giggles and leans in, capturing Santana's lips, "Do you know how much I love you?"

"Until infinity, right?"

"Until infinity." Brittany smiles softly, eyes sparkling, "Always."

* * *

AN: Motocross is a pretty big thing here, especially if you're from the westside, so I really couldn't resist writing canon motocross!Brittana. I, on the other hand, have never and will never ride a dirt bike or quad, lol. I'm a big baby and I am too afraid.

Also, for anyone interested, a good looking roost guard and motocross helmet would run you maybe $200 on Amazon. I like to imagine that Santana has a wish list titled "Sweet Lady Kisses" and she adds various items to it whenever she's struck with _inspiration_. And Brittany, when she has extra money to spend, will secretly order things from it without Santana knowing so that she can surprise her sometimes on the nights she comes home early from the studio.


	4. Brittana's 4th Year

_**Chapter 4: Brittana's 4th Year**_

It's been their busiest year yet. Santana released her debut EP and is on the heels of her first small tour. Brittany tagged along as support of course, working remotely out of which ever hotel room they happened to land in.

The EP, titled Snixx, was for the most part pretty successful and Santana's proud of how far she's come.

Brittany's also made progress. After embracing herself as the mathematical genius she is, she's been published in a few academic journals and was even a featured profile piece in The New Yorker, written by none other than, Ms. Quinn Fabray.

It was amazingly well done, and even though it's been three months since the article ran, Santana hasn't stopped talking about it. She still carries a copy of it in her purse, even after Brittany scolded her about how embarrassing it was on more than one occasion.

But Santana can't help it that she's just so fucking proud of her wife. Hell, she'll even show it to the check out clerk at the grocery store just because _she can_.

They're both moving up in the world and they're doing it _together_.

Which is why this year, they decide to make their anniversary a little extra special. To celebrate the past year of accomplishments. Plus, they have the money to do so now, so why the hell not.

Their anniversary started off like it usually does, in their favorite little cottage. After a morning swim in the ocean -and a morning quickie shortly after- they made a day trip into town to do some shopping. Who would've known that urban Honolulu is home to the largest open air shopping center in the world?

And how was it that they've only waited til now to go there?

When they got to Ala Moana, Santana was like a kid in a candy store. Or more like, a kid in a candy _mall_. Easily spend most of the day there, they walked every inch of the place and even bought matching diamond earrings in the shape of pineapples to mark the occasion.

It was a little pricey, but they both agreed to it seeing as they've never actually bought each other anniversary gifts before. In previous years, most of their money was spent on their vacation experience as a whole.

And just when Santana thought this year's been their best anniversary yet, Brittany took it one step further and surprised her with one last thing. With the help of Aunty Lin's connections, she booked them a sunset dinner cruise on a private charter boat.

It must've cost Brittany a small fortune, even with Aunty Lin's connections, but Santana won't question it. She knows her wife wanted to treat her to something special and damn did she deliver.

Because there they are, out at sea aboard the most beautiful catamaran, watching the sun set into the ocean. And Santana's so incredibly happy, it's insane. Four amazing years with the love of her life and she knows it's only going up from here.

Man, if her younger self could see her now.

"Honey," Brittany gets her attention, "What are thinking about?"

Santana smiles, leaning down to rest her head on her wife's shoulder, "How lucky I am that I get to spend the rest of infinity loving you."

Brittany giggles, "You know we're already married, right? You don't have to sweet talk me like that anymore."

"Oh, well in that case-"

"No wait, I take it back!" Her wife gasps and Santana laughs, scooting closer to get more comfortable. She listens to the ocean and feels the boat as it moves with the water.

"You're my favorite person in the whole world, Britt. And I know I say that all the time, but that's just because I really mean it. You are."

She feels Brittany kiss her forehead lightly, her lips resting there, "You're my favorite person too, Santana."

They sit in comfortable silence as the last bit of sun disappears and the air turns a tad bit cooler. Snuggling even closer together, the boat engine begins to hum as it makes its way back to the harbor.

"Hey, do you remember when you proposed to me by saying you wanna mash up with me forever, and literally no one in that whole choir room thought to say, _wanky_?"

Santana laughs, nodding her head, "Tragic."

"You set it up perfectly, too. How did they miss that?"

"I think we're just going to have to finally accept the fact that no one else is as smart as us, babe."

"Yeah," Brittany smiles down at her, "We're just too awesome."

* * *

They spend half of the next day watching trashy reality shows from the comfort of their bed. With nothing else really planned for their remaining few days of vacation, they just want to take advantage of the fact that they have no real responsibilities right now.

It's a knock to their door that finally gets them to leave their bedroom, and Santana opens the door to find Uncle Alika standing there with a plastic bag full of what looks and smells to be food.

"Just wanted to drop this off." He hands her the bag, "Saw the Manapua Man on the way home and just had to pick something up. I figured you guys probably never tried it before so I grabbed extra."

"Thank you..." Santana says before looking at him confused, "Wait, you saw the _what_?"

He laughs, "The Manapua Man. It's a Hawaii thing. Kinda like our local version of an ice cream truck."

Santana looks at the bag again with even more confusion because she's like a thousand percent sure there's no ice cream inside it.

"Think of it like a combination of take-out Chinese restaurant but also a mom and pop store… and it's all sold out of one of those white vans."

"That's probably the most confusing and sketchiest thing I've ever heard in my life," Santana laughs, handing the bag to Brittany who immediately starts inspecting the various food items.

"I got you guys a classic Manapua Man meal." Uncle Alika smiles proudly, "Fried noodles, pork hash, and a Strawberry soda. You're gonna love it."

"Thanks so much, uncle! We haven't eaten anything all day." Brittany returns to the door, stepping out to give him a hug. "It looks delicious."

"Any time, ladies. Oh, and Aunty Lin told me to invite you two to our family party at her brother Eric's house to watch tonight's fight."

"Tonight's fight?" Brittany asks.

"The Holloway fight." He says like it's obvious, "Pride of Hawaii, representing the westside."

"Oh, I'm not sure…" Santana tries to protest but he quickly shakes his head.

"She said she's not taking no for an answer. Something about a surprise later and you two have to be there for it."

Santana glances at Brittany, who shrugs, "I mean, we do already know most of them, San. It could be fun?"

She thinks about it for a second. They did have fun last year spending the day at the motocross track so she knows they'll get along fine. But to watch a UFC fight? That's not really their thing. Then again, it'd be rude to turn down an invitation knowing that Aunty Lin has something planned.

Plus, she does knows them enough to trust them at this point, so really...

"What the hell, why not?"

* * *

By the time night rolls around, they're dressed and ready to watch a bunch of grown adults beat each other up on television.

During the short drive over, they make a pit stop at a nearby store to pick up a case of Heineken since they don't want to rudely show up empty-handed.

After following the directions into Waianae valley, they finally pull up to a large property and it's then that they fully realize what it is they're stepping into. If this is what a UFC party looks like in Waianae then they really don't mess around.

From what she can see, it's a whole set-up with a large silver canopy tent, complete with tables and chairs and a very large projector screen attached to one end.

"My favorite haoles!" Aunty Lin yells from her seat as soon as she sees them. "And look, they brought beer!"

They spend the next thirty minutes greeting everyone before they're finally able to take a seat and Santana's got to admit, it almost feels like they're part of the family.

When they eat, she can't help but groan at how amazing the food tastes. She even made sure to take notes on which restaurant's each item came from so that they can put it on her list of places that they've yet to try. Which is an ever growing list because they keep getting introduced to new things.

At some point during the night, Brittany was pulled away by the group of children running around and Santana watches adoringly from afar, easily imagining what it would be like once they have a few little ones of their own.

"Hey," A young voice gets Santana's attention and she turns to see the same teenage girl that questioned her last year at the motocross track.

"Hey."

"So, I listened to your EP." The girl says in a cool, nonchalant kind of way, and Santana has to hold back a knowing laugh.

"And?"

She shrugs, "It was pretty good." She says like it's no big deal before promptly returning to her phone screen and Santana smirks.

"Thanks, kid."

* * *

The Holloway fight is minutes from starting, and somehow her beautifully soft 'stop the violence' wife has been magically replaced with a psycho fan, cheering on with the rest of the family.

What's even more crazy, is the sounds of the same type of cheering coming from seemingly every other household in the whole damn neighborhood. The hype is almost unexplainable. Chaos doesn't even come close.

Santana's sure that even the craziest of Super Bowl parties don't compare to this.

Every few minutes, police patrol cars pass by, and it gives her the most uneasy feeling. Like she doesn't exactly know what to expect and if she maybe needs to be preparing herself for _something_ to happen.

And just when she thinks it can't get any more intense, one of the patrol cars pull up and an officer gets out of his vehicle.

Heart beating through her chest, she steps a little closer to Brittany. But no one else seems fazed by it. She looks around confused because not only is no one else reacting, no one even pays him any attention until his literally standing right next to the screen.

"Kimo!" Uncle Eric yells, standing to greet him kindly.

"Did it start, yet?" The officer, apparently Kimo, says as he continues to greet a few of the surrounding men.

"Cousin Kimo." Aunty Lin speaks up next to Santana and she jumps in surprise. "He usually shows up to these things just in case."

"In case of what?"

The older woman laughs, pointing towards the screen, "A bad outcome."

Santana looks around at everyone as they stand to their feet, eager. She notices the teenage girl from earlier, her eyes no longer glued to her phone and instead watching the start of the fight intently. Even Brittany has begun punch at the air, and if Santana's anxiety wasn't at an all time high, she'd probably think of it as cute.

"Just wait till he wins." Aunty Lin smiles, patting Santana's back before walking away.

She's not sure what she meant by that, but it manages to calm her nerves a little.

It isn't until the third round that Santana really starts getting into it. A few beers combined with the raw energy that surrounds her is more than enough to awaken her inner Snixx.

And Brittany? Brittany's gone completely insane, going so far as to wrapping a Hawaiian flag around her shoulders and yelling, "Westside, best side!" with the rest of the uncles at the front.

Santana's not even sure where the flag came from. All she knows it she lost track of her for one minute and by the time she found her again, it was completely covering her wife.

When Holloway wins by knockout in the fourth round, the ground actually shakes as the entire neighborhood erupts at once. Not even thirty seconds later, people from every household begin flooding the street and once she realizes what's going on, Santana moves quickly to be with her wife, lacing their fingers together.

They move further out to the street and look up at the night sky, watching as it lights up with fireworks.

And it's not just their area. The neighborhoods across the way and as far as they can see light up the sky as aerial after aerial goes off in a symphony of bangs.

Santana feels a soft tug on her hand and when she looks down she finds little boy, asking her for help with his small fountain firework. She looks up to find his mom, who smiles at her and nods her approval. Brittany smiles at her too, holding a thumbs up and Santana blushes a little.

It's a strange feeling, mostly because she didn't spend as much time as Brittany did with the kids so for her to have been his first choice kind of takes her by surprise.

"Aunty 'tana," The little boy jumps impatiently, and she hears her wife laugh. Santana rolls her eyes, smiling as she picks him up and walks to the middle of the street. She crouches down with him on her hip and helps him as he situates the tiny cone on the asphalt.

"Ready, kid?" She looks at him and his grip around her squeezes a little bit tighter. Santana glances back to the house and sees Brittany watching them with the widest smile, phone pointed at her and probably recording the moment.

"Light it, light it!" He squeals and Santana looks back at him.

"We have to run away really fast, okay?" She tells him and he nods excitedly. She smiles, holding her pinky up, "Promise?"

"Promise!" He yells, almost hitting her in the face with how fast he moves to link his pinky with hers.

She chuckles at his enthusiasm. Then, with the lighter that one of the cousins hands to her, she lights the fuse and runs back in a fit of giggles to where Brittany is standing.

They all watch together as the mini fountain works it's magic, the smiling boy still attached to Santana's hip.

"You're adorable." Brittany whispers beside her and Santana's cheeks burn hot, "And I'd kiss you right now, but there seems to be a waitlist for _Santana time_."

Confused, she arches an eyebrow and Brittany motions to the rest of the smaller children, all holding tiny fountains and waiting their turn. She turns back to her wife with wide eyes and Brittany just laughs at her, shrugging.

* * *

So apparently fireworks are illegal in Hawaii and Santana just helped a handful of very small children break the law.

And Brittany has the videos to prove it.

But it also doesn't seem to be that big of a deal from the looks of it. Hell, even the police officer from earlier was standing there watching the show.

"Okay, everyone I have something to say before we all head home." Aunty Lin stands, getting everyone's attention. "I'm sure you've all met Santana and Brittany by now."

At the mention of their names, Santana and Brittany stop what they're doing and look up like a couple of deer caught in headlights. This must be about the surprise Uncle Alika was talking about.

"Girls," Aunty Lin smiles, "For four years now, you've come here to celebrate your anniversary and honestly, it's been such a pleasure seeing how much you've both grown year after year. And especially after tonight, I think I speak for everyone here when I say it's about time we call this what it is."

Santana, still unsure of where this is going, reaches for Brittany's hand and squeezes it softly.

"_Hanai_." The older woman smiles and motions to the whole group, "This family is your family. From now on, the cottage is unavailable for any bookings during the week of your anniversary. Just come and it's yours."

"Aunty…" Brittany stands suddenly, pulling Santana up with her and towards the front. "Aunty, you don't have to do that."

"Really, that's too generous." Santana adds, knowing that them renting out their cottage is what pays their bills.

"Well, you don't have any other choice but to accept." Aunty Lin laughs, "We don't rent to _family_."

Santana looks at her wife and she can already see the mix of emotions embedded in deep blue.

Uncle Alika stands, "And if you need it longer or any other time during the year, just let us know. You're always welcome. This is your home now, too."

"You guys," Santana mutters softly, really regretting that last beer because she's about five seconds away from turning into a crying mess, "Thank you both so much."

He holds up his beer and the family, no, _their_ family, does to. "Happy Anniversary, you too."

A chorus of cheers set off around them and Brittany looks down at Santana, the softest of smiles gracing her lips.

They weren't expecting this. And if someone were to tell them after their very first trip that they'd find a family like this in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they probably would have laughed. How could they have known that they'd slowly build a relationship like this with complete strangers?

Brittany moves quickly, making Santana giggle as she pulling her close and places the sweetest, most softest kiss to her lips.

"I love you."

* * *

AN: Thank you to everyone for your very kind words on tumblr. Even if we don't know each other, every single one of you are amazing humans. Truly. And I'm so grateful to have found a family in a community this awesome.

I'm going to be taking some personal time to handle things with my family. I'm hopeful that it won't be too long, but it really all depends on what happens in the next week or so.

If you're reading Song of Mine, please forgive me. I know I said I'd update next week, but I just can't bring myself to write, right now. Not with everything that's going on. Hope you can understand.


	5. Brittana's 5th Year

_**Chapter 5: Brittana's 5th Year**_

"Brittany, be careful with that bag." Santana grimaces as Brittany shoves the extra luggage in the trunk of their rental car.

With a final push the trunk clicks shut and Brittany turns to Santana, breathless and with a hand already on her hip.

"What?" Santana mumbles, shuffling her feet on the pavement, "It's just… _important_."

"It was _unnecessary_."

"We had to." Santana frowns, "You saw how crazy they were this summer. It was like wild animals were let loose in a grocery store."

"I don't think I'll ever understand Hawaii's obsession with Trader Joes snacks."

Santana shrugs, "I don't get it either but I think it's cute. And they love it so we had to bring some for them."

"Some?" Brittany raises an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "Honey, you packed it in it's own luggage."

"At least it's only a small one." Santana tries to justify, "And look it fits perfectly in the trunk!"

Brittany laughs and moves closer to her wife, holding her at her waist, "You're the sweetest, you know that?"

Santana hums at that, tilting her head just enough to kiss Brittany's cheek, "Only to you, babe."

"No…" Brittany giggles, "To those you love."

It's true, Santana and Brittany really do love their Hawaii family. After last year's anniversary they've grown a lot closer and now it really does feel like they've come home.

Truth be told, it's only been about half a year since they've seen them last. The whole family had been planning this big trip to California, with all the uncles and aunties and all their kids. Unbeknownst to Santana, they planned it to be around the same time as her first major tour.

Brittany was in on it, of course. It was the only surefire way they could secure 30 or so of those front row seats. And as much as Brittany tried otherwise, they were all adamant that they pay full price. It was important to them to support Santana, to which Brittany couldn't argue.

So you best believe when Santana walked out on stage on her final night on tour and immediately saw all of them there, she nearly lost it. She didn't see it coming at all but she knew Brittany had to have known. She knew there was no way they could've organized it without the help of her wife.

After the show they went out to celebrate together as a family. The family talked about their plans for the rest of their trip and Santana's wheels were already turning, knowing it was the perfect way to pay Brittany back.

Plus, she couldn't help but notice the way Brittany's eyes lit up the moment they started talking about Disneyland the next day. When the offer to join was extended, Santana accepted right away. It wasn't until they actually got there, that Santana and Brittany realized how intense their family actually was about Disneyland.

It was really fun though, and it made them feel like they were a part of something. The matching family vacation shirts that one of the aunties gave to them also helped. Brittany, of course, made sure to take tons of pictures to document the occasion. Mostly because she knew Santana hated the idea of matching anything but wasn't about to be rude and not wear them.

But Santana felt honored to have even been included. To think that they made sure to have an extra pair of shirts for them on the off chance that they'd be available to join in, she knew the sentiment shouldn't have been taken lightly. She couldn't imagine the headache involved in planning a trip of that caliber and it probably wouldn't happen again for a long time. They were a part of something the whole family will remember for years to come.

So who could blame her for actually being excited to see everyone again?

And Brittany is just as excited. She's itching to fill in Aunty Lin on all the antics they were up to since Santana's tour. She especially can't wait to finally witness Santana and Maya's annual stare off.

The first time Santana told her about it, she couldn't help but laugh. She wishes she could've been there to see the teenage girl challenge her wife, and then she missed it again at the house party last year. Santana told her something along the lines of Maya finally admitting that she was _cool_, though Brittany figures she took some liberties in the retelling of that conversation.

Brittany's pretty sure her wife sees a little bit of herself in the young cousin and admittedly, she sees it too. Mostly it's the quick wit, unforgiving sass, and the obvious pretending to be unbothered or uninterested. But Brittany finds it super cute every time they see each other, both ready to square up at the drop of a hat. She knows that Maya is just messing with her wife by testing her boundaries and dismissing her as not worth her time. Which is exactly the thing that gets under Santana's skin.

But now Santana has the upper foot. Especially after they were all backstage after Santana's show and the one and only Miss Mercedes Jones walked in. The look on Maya's face was satisfying enough, but Santana took it one step further and introduced the young one to her old friend, making sure to emphasize that not only did they tour together, they practically grew up together.

The whole night made Brittany's heart warm, seeing all of them supporting her wife. To see that they meant what they said when they made her and Santana a part of the family. Even Maya was singing along to every one of her songs and the best part is that the young girl can't deny it either because it's fully documented thanks to Brittany recording everyone from the sidelines.

"Britt, you have the check ready, right?" Santana asks, interrupting her thoughts as they pull up the driveway to the familiar cottage. The paint is even more faded than last year and it's even chipping in some parts of the front panel. A pang of guilt hits her and she sighs, knowing that their found family is losing out on the extra income every time they visit from now on.

Brittany reaches into the front pocket of her bag and pulls it out, "She's not going to accept it. You know how Aunty is."

"Well, we still have to _try_."

They look toward the main house and can already see Uncle Alika walking out to greet them, waving his hand up and smiling widely.

"Why is it that even when he's happy, he's still so intimidating?" Santana laughs and Brittany smiles at her, reaching over the middle console to squeeze Santana's leg. By the time they get out of the car, he's standing right in front of them, arms wide open.

"How was the flight?" He smiles and hugs them both, squeezing lightly.

"Bumpy." Brittany rolls her eyes, "Santana almost broke my hand from squeezing it so tightly."

He laughs, patting Santana on the shoulder, "Well, you kids must be starving. Come on inside, Aunty made a big pot of pastele stew."

Santana's mouth already starts watering. She wasn't able to stomach anything on the flight over but she looks at their car and sighs, knowing they still have to unpack.

As if Uncle Alika knows what she's thinking, he moves behind them and starts pushing them toward the main house, "Nevermind your bags. Can't do anything on an empty stomach!"

Once they get inside, Aunty Lin nearly tackles the girls to the ground.

She has them sit at the kitchen table as she starts making their bowls, already gushing about what's been going on with the rest of the family in the last few months.

"Aunty," Santana chuckles, standing to help, "Please, let me do that."

"Nuh uh, sit that little ass of yours down," The older woman turns around and Santana, shocked and mildly offended, quickly takes her seat again, "You two are guests in this house."

At that, Brittany and Santana share a look, nodding. This is the perfect time to do it.

"Well, in that case-" Brittany starts, reaching into her pocket but Aunty Lin immediately stops her.

"I swear to Christ, if that's a check I'm going to hit you with this spoon." She says pointedly, holding said wooden spoon out like she means it.

Uncle Alika's laugh bellows from the living room around the corner, "I told you they were gonna try it, Lin! You owe me fifty bucks!"

"It's only something small." Santana tries to justify, "Please, just take it. It's the least we can do."

"We already told you girls. _Family_ doesn't pay."

"But you just called us _guests_." Brittany counters. But Aunty Lin holds her ground, placing their bowls in front of them.

She grins, arching an eyebrow, "Get your own spoons then."

The younger women share another look and then chuckle, shaking their heads as they stand and move toward the far left drawer of the kitchen, already knowing where it is. When they sit back down, Aunty Lin's still sporting that smug look of hers.

The pastele stew, as expected, is amazing. About halfway through their meal, Santana runs out to the car and returns with the biggest smile on full display, their luggage full of Trader Joes snacks in tow.

Brittany can't help but smile at how enthusiastic her wife is as she's pulling out all the items. By the time she's done, the entire counter is covered and Aunty Lin's eyes are wide.

"I tried telling her it was too much." Brittany laughs but the older woman shakes her head.

"Impossible. This'll probably last us one month tops." She turns to Santana, "I'm gonna call Pat and tell her you guys brought home presents."

Santana smiles at the fact she said _home_, and also loving that they view something as simple as snacks, from Trader Joes of all places, _presents_. She makes a mental note to send Trader Joe's a perfectly crafted letter, urging corporate to consider opening a location in Hawaii. They would seriously make a killing.

"Hey." Brittany calls out softly to Santana once Aunty Lin leaves the room to grab her phone, "Come here."

Santana blushes, but does as she's told. She takes her seat again but turns, allowing her to lean back into her wife's open arms.

"You're being extra cute, right now." Brittany smiles, turning her head slightly to kiss Santana's temple.

Santana scoffs playfully, "Excuse you, I am always this cute."

Brittany hums into dark hair and chuckles. They sit like that and listen as Aunty Lin gushes to Aunty Pat on the phone.

"I told you it was important." Santana smiles when the older woman comes back in to take a picture of the mini mountain on top of her counter.

"You know we can always just mail them Trader Joes when we're back in NY, right?"

Santana shakes her head softly, "It's not the same. Plus it's more fun this way."

"That is true." Brittany smiles.

She gets lost in her thoughts as they sit there in silence, taking everything in. _Five years. _For five whole magical years, they've been wife and wife. Her eyes tear a little at the thought of how far they've come. She wishes more than anything, if she could ever get that damn time machine to work, to go back in time to when they were fifteen and tell her younger self _this_ is where they'll be.

She'd tell herself that all of that pain she's feeling will be worth it in the end because she'll get her girl. She'd tell her that Santana isn't perfect and neither is she but they can be imperfect together and they'll work their way through life in the way that only they know how.

And then, five years after they say I do, they'll be sitting in a beach house in Hawaii, holding each other and thinking about the many more years to come.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Santana suddenly stands, giving Brittany a chaste kiss before grabbing their dirty dishes and proceeds to wash them in the sink.

It's so casual and domestic, but Brittany will never tire from seeing her wife like this.

She sits there quietly watching as Santana hums softly to herself, her hair is tied up in a ponytail so messy that Sue would have her running laps for committing such an offense. Almost as if Santana can sense her eyes, she glances back with the smallest smile and winks. It takes Brittany's breath away and she knows then, this will definitely be an anniversary to remember.

* * *

The morning sun creeping onto the bed wakes Santana. She groans, kicking off the blanket and turns over. Her hand lands on a piece of paper, and her eyes open slowly. Confused, she inspects it further and as soon as she reads what it says she's up and out of bed within seconds.

_I'm in the bath. Come get your anniversary present._

* * *

By noon, Santana's pretty sure they did some major damage to Lin and Alika's water bill. That, and possibly even some water damage to the bathroom floor.

"They finally stopped talking about the broken bed, Britt. We can't give them a new reason to tease us." Santana sighs, trying her best to wipe up all the water that spilled over with the extra towels she found in the closet.

"It's fine, Santana. See?" Brittany says, moving the towels around to reveal the floor, "There's no damage."

"Let's hope not." Santana stands, eyeing the wood as if just simply staring at it will tell her anything.

Brittany watches her and licks her lips, noticing the smallest sheen of sweat already forming on Santana's forehead. She moves easily around Santana and goes straight to the bathtub, turning it on. Santana looks at her curiously.

"Britt, what are you doing?"

"You're gonna need another bath after all that hard work. You're all dirty again."

"Britt…"

Brittany smirks, already starting to undress from her robe. She turns away to check the temperature and just before she moves to step inside, she feels Santana's arms wrap around her torso, both of their bodies bare.

"We're never gonna leave this bathroom, are we?" Santana mumbles into her neck, kissing it softly there.

"Mm, not a chance."

* * *

They finally emerge from their cottage around early evening, solely for the purpose of sustenance. They thought they could scavenge for any residual snacks left in their luggage but apparently snack mix packets from their flight were not acceptable enough for Brittany.

Santana agrees though. It's their fifth anniversary and she'll never forgive herself if all she fed Brittany was _snack mix_. Well technically, that's not _all_ she ate.

They decide to head to the closest grocery store to pick up a few things for the rest of their trip, grabbing their usual breakfast fruits, some chips for snacking, and a couple of pounds of different styles of poke.

Before heading home, they stop at a nearby plate lunch place, completely okay with something greasy for dinner. They've learned to share one plate, remembering how big the portions were last time.

When they get back home they sit at the kitchen table and eat together. Brittany struggles eating a particularly long noodle and it takes her a few tries but she eventually gets the whole thing in her mouth.

"I love you." Santana smiles, adoring her wife. Only Brittany could make fighting with a noodle look _beautiful_.

Brittany, embarrassed, ducks her head shyly, "I love you, too."

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"_This_ didn't just _happen_, Santana." Brittany shakes her head, points between the two of them, "We put in the work to make this happen. _Together_. And as easy as it is to love each other, it also can be hard at times. But no matter what, we always chose each other. We always fought our way back."

Santana, caught off guard, tears at her wife's words, "I'm so glad we didn't give up then."

"I would never give up on you." Brittany says genuinely, reaches forward to wipe away a rogue tear.

"Never."

* * *

Since they spent the entirety of yesterday inside, today they decided to go to town to do some shopping like last year. This time though they avoid _town_ town, and opt for _Kapolei_ town, not willing to make the hour long drive into Honolulu.

Ka Makana Alii is beautiful, and it's only been a few years since it opened so they take their time exploring the new mall. They even take turns attempting to say the name, though they later find that they were both _very_ wrong once they hear someone else say it in passing.

At one point, Santana even thinks she saw Bretman Rock but before she could embarrass herself she realizes it was just an ordinary Filipino boy.

After about two hours, Santana is sure they walked into every skin care shop the mall had to offer. Partly because Brittany's obsession this year was skin care. She's all about that morning and evening routine. Of course, Santana doesn't mind it as much as the health kick a few years back, mostly because she'd never say no to more skin care products.

Truthfully though, Brittany's been super stressed at work recently, and she's scared of getting worry lines. It's not that she can't handle it, she definitely can now. But even though she's been a lot better at keeping a good balance of work and fun, she's been putting a lot more hours in because she really believes in the work that she's doing now. She's carving out a place for herself in the world and people are starting to notice.

And this time around she's not being touted as some weird freak teenager from Ohio that can solve complex equations from seemingly out of nowhere. No, now she's made sure she's being taken seriously and being treated professionally.

But above all, she just wants to hold on to the comfort of looking her age. Which is why they don't have to think twice before booking side by side facials and massages.

After their relaxing day, and once their stomachs start to rumble from hunger, Santana tells Brittany that they _have_ to go home for dinner, despite the fact that they have zero food they can turn into a respectable meal in the cottage. But Santana offers her some lame excuse and Brittany doesn't question it, knowing that there's probably another reason that she's just not willing to divulge yet.

When they pull up their driveway and step out of the car, Brittany notices a large group of people in the grassy area by the beach. And as strange is it appears, she chalks it up to it probably being some sort of family party.

"Let's go check it out." Santana says, smiling slyly and already walking away from her.

"But dinner…" Brittany follows slowly, not really sure what's going on.

But Santana turns to her, her smile full of excitement and reassurement, "The guest of honor can't be late to her own party."

"Wha-"

Brittany's words stop in her throat when she looks closer and finally sees them. _All of them._ The last time everyone was together in one place was at Disneyland the day after Santana's last show.

"You didn't _really_ think they were just going to celebrate my big achievement and not yours, did you?"

"Wait, this is for me?"

"You're a genius, Brittany." Santana takes hold of Brittany's hand and kisses her knuckles softly, her eyes full of love and admiration, "And now the whole world finally knows."

"Santana…"

"I'm so proud of you, babe."

Brittany's heart takes flight and she lunges forward to kiss Santana, completely at a loss for words. It's not like every ordinary person wins a Norbert Wiener Prize, but it's also not like every ordinary person even knows what that is or what it means.

"How did they even find out?"

"I told Aunty Lin about it when we were in Disneyland. While you were on the Incredibles coaster."

"I had a feeling you were up to something!" Brittany blushes, "I knew I should've made you ride it with me."

"Oh, no. You had one free pass and you used it on our senior ditch day."

"Santana, that's insane. You can't swear off coasters for the rest of your life after riding a little bitty one back in _high school_."

Santana scoffs, "That was NOT _little bitty_, Brittany. It was _massive_!"

"It was barely twenty seconds long, Santana."

The shorter woman shrugs and raises an eyebrow in challenge, "I mean, we can spend all night arguing about that, _or_ we could go over there and you can be celebrated for being a super hot genius."

Brittany's smile grows as she squeals and takes her wife's hand, pulling her toward the crowd.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone cheers once the girls are close enough and Brittany's already nearly in tears.

It's a familiar scene with the tents being set up in the same fashion as the house party last year. The only difference this time is the massive banner hanging off from one of the sides that reads, _All Hail Brittany S. Lopez-Pierce, Queen of Math & Dat Ass_.

Brittany turns to Santana, "You were in charge of the sign, weren't you?"

"Obviously."

"It's inappropriate, Santana."

"But accurate."

Brittany blushes, knowing that all the kids in the family are definitely old enough to read. But her embarrassment is soon forgotten once everyone starts coming up to give her a hug, almost all of them giving her lei after lei in congratulations. One even handmade a lei po'o for her to wear on top of her head.

Santana stands back and watches as her wife is adorned with praise and love. Once the last lei is placed on her wife, the only thing Santana can see is her blonde hair peeking through. She's sure Brittany can barely see let alone breathe properly under everything.

"The Norbert Wiener Prize is a cash prize, right?" Santana looks to her side and finds Maya, "So what'd she spend the money on?"

"She donated it." Santana smiles proudly, "To medical robotics research for paralysis."

"Whoa, seriously?" Maya's eyes widen in shock and Santana nods.

"We have a friend whose dream it is to dance and Britt refuses to give up on him." Santana explains and Maya smiles at that. Santana's actually taken aback, she almost can't believe she's having a decent conversation with her young enemy. She watches as Maya looks at Brittany in awe.

"That's pretty badass. Brittany is like… an icon."

"I think you mean, _bi-con_." Santana jokes, immediately regretting her choice to use finger guns in that moment.

"_Wow_, she really settled with you, huh?" Maya quips easily, displaying a smirk that rivals Santana's.

Santana's smile drops and she turns fully to the girl, "What did you just say, you little-"

Maya's laugh cuts her off, holding up her hands, "Damn chill, Santana. I'm just messing with you."

Santana's still fuming as the girl walks away. Soon enough she feels a hand on her lower back and immediately recognizes it as Brittany's, instantly calming her. She's kept a couple of choice lei around her neck and the rest were neatly placed on the table beside them. The mixture of different flowers still clinging to Brittany's own scent and Santana inhales deeply.

"What's wrong?" Brittany coos, noticing Santana's shift in mood. She follows her line of sight until she sees who's back Santana is staring daggers into, "Oh damn it, did I miss it _again_!?"

"She's gonna catch these hands one of these days."

"She's a _child_." Brittany holds back a giggle, silently loving that her wife is this worked up.

"I don't care. She's mean."

"_You_ were also mean at that age."

"What do you mean, _at that age_? I can still be mean." Santana folds her arms over her chest, not giving up.

"Not mean enough to fight a child, Santana."

Santana's eyes follow Maya as she takes a seat at one of the far tables and she sizes her up, "Fine. But when I was her age I could've taken her."

"You do know she's a reigning state wrestling champion, right?"

Santana scoffs, "So? Zizes wrestled and I took her." She tries to counter but Brittany laughs loudly at that.

"I'm sorry babe, but you didn't _take_ anything. Zizes _demolished_ you."

"I don't remember it that way." Santana mutters, rolling her eyes, "Plus, Maya is like a hundred pounds soaking wet. I'm pretty sure I could take her."

"Hon, as much as I love to see you pinned down, I much rather be the one doing it."

Santana's mouth drops open and she looks away blushing, "Brittany, we're around children."

Unamused, Brittany points at the giant sign across the tent, "Your sign literally says, _dat ass_."

When Santana shrugs, clearly not apologetic for her actions, Brittany giggles and pulls her closer. They hold each other there and look over at their family. Everyone together again, some laughing, some bantering, some playing music and singing together.

Brittany takes it all in. To think that all of these people have never, not for a second, questioned her intelligence, it warms her soul. All of them gathered here to celebrate _her_.

Brittany never thought she'd ever get recognized for her work. She never would've thought she'd be recognized for _anything_, much less this publicly and it being _accepted_ by colleagues.

She really made something of herself. No longer just some dumb cheerleader. She knows she's a lot stronger than the words anyone can spit at her. She conquered her demons.

And Santana was by her side supporting her the whole time. Her own personal cheerleader to lift her up and encourage her when she needed it because that's what they do for each other. It's their individual growth that makes their love that much stronger, always staying true to who the other is as an individual.

They really do make the perfect mash up.

"Thank you for this, Santana." Brittany looks down at her wife already smiling softly at her.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?"

Brittany blushes, remembering, "Tell me again."

* * *

AN: Tbh, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter but I'm posting it because I feel really bad since this is already so outrageously late! I also wrote up some fic notes that give a little bit of insight into some things mentioned throughout this fic, and it's just been sitting in my tumblr drafts for like a whole two months now because I really don't know if it'll just go over your heads or if it's just completely unnecessary lol.

Anyways… shout out to the Brittana Discord server :P If anyone out there is looking for a found family, look no further and consider joining! It's a blast in there.


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